If you're
a business owner, you're in for a sweet deal on a shiny gift this holiday:
Thousands of dollars off the price of a big sport-utility vehicle.But
don't thank Santa -- thank Uncle Sam.As a result of a quirk of federal
tax law, business owners are allowed to depreciate SUVs and pickups more
quickly than cars. The discrepancy has been around for nearly two decades,
but it's getting new attention amid the soaring popularity of SUVs and
pickups as suburban people-movers. As the end of the year approaches,
the tax break gets particularly popular, since business owners often are
in the market for ways to cut their taxable income.The deduction stems
from the longstanding and somewhat bizarre classification of SUVs as "light
trucks" rather than "cars."

That means a tax break that was at least partly intended to help farmers
buy pickup trucks is now being applied to today's quintessential suburban
passenger vehicle.The law gives people who qualify an immediate deduction
of as much as $24,000 -- which grows to $25,000 next year -- off the price
of an SUV. Plus, until 2004, there's a bonus deduction of 30% of the rest
of the cost of the truck. Both these deductions are on top of the regular
five-year depreciation that would apply to light trucks bought as business
transportation. The only catch: To get all these breaks, you have to buy
a truck that weighs over 6,000 pounds. The Chevy Suburban makes it, but
the Chevy Blazer doesn't.Major Price CutIt adds up to a significant price
cut. Ford Motor Co.'s Land Rover Range Rover, for instance, has a list
price of $71,865, but the combined tax breaks effectively knock $21,560
off the price, over the course of five years, assuming a tax rate of 30%.

The deduction, described in an article Wednesday in the Detroit News,
comes at a time of mounting debate over U.S. dependence on foreign oil.
SUVs and pickups typically are far less fuel-efficient than passenger
cars. That discrepancy -- and the debate over automotive greenhouse-gas
emissions -- has become an increasingly hot political issue since light
trucks now account for about half of the total U.S. new-vehicle market.

DRIVING THROUGH A LOOPHOLE How tax deductions for business owners can
slash the cost of a new SUV: Land Rover Range Rover Retail price: $71,865Effective
price after depreciation: $50,305*Amount saved: $21,560 Cadillac Escalade
Retail price: $53,995Effective price after depreciation: $37,796* Amount
saved: $16,199 * "Immediate depreciation" (which doesn't apply to passenger
cars or to light trucks under 6,000 pounds) lets a business owner immediately
depreciate $24,000 plus 30% of the rest of the price of an SUV or pickup.
Then, the vehicle's remaining value is depreciated over the course of
five years, accounting for the rest of the tax break.

Critics call it a loophole big enough to drive an SUV through. Mark Sherrard
ordered a Chevrolet Suburban in October to take advantage of the accelerated
tax breaks after his accountant told him about them. With a discount on
the vehicle courtesy of his brother who works at General Motors and the
0% financing offer GM was offering, he didn't need to think about it long."I
wanted to get a new vehicle anyway," says Mr. Sherrard, a doctor who lives
in Monroe, Mich. "Frankly, it was a no-brainer."For years, federal law
has allowed business owners to depreciate cars and trucks just like any
other kind of equipment, letting owners depreciate bigger chunks in the
early years, and the full value over five years.

But in 1984, concerned that too many people were claiming the family car
as a business expense, the government sharply limited car depreciation.
Those limits don't apply to light trucks."You have a Christmas present
here," says Aileen Roder, program director for Taxpayers for Common Sense,
a nonpartisan Washington, D.C., budget watchdog group that opposes the
SUV credit. She estimates the light-truck tax break costs the federal
government between $840 million and $987 million yearly, making it "one
of the largest tax breaks per capita" on the federal books.

Despite hand-wringing in Washington over U.S. dependence on foreign oil,
the tax deduction for fuel-thirsty light trucks is larger than existing
tax breaks for fuel-efficient cars. Owners of hybrid gas-and-electric
cars -- Honda Motor Co.'s hybrid version of the Civic, and Toyota Motor
Corp.'s Prius -- get a $2,000 tax deduction. Proposals to boost the hybrid
tax break were part of a Senate energy bill that stalled this year.For
now, however, the light-truck tax break remains on the books. Several
dealers contacted Wednesday were unaware of it -- but eager to find out
more to use it as a sales tool.Mike Malek, tax partner at Michigan-based
accounting firm Plante & Moran, says he makes sure that all his clients
are aware of the break. Although the deduction rarely persuades a luxury-car
buyer to buy a truck instead, it sometimes persuades people to pick a
big SUV instead of a smaller one, he says.'Inexcusable Boondoggle'"If
a client is looking at purchasing a Navigator vs. another luxury vehicle
for the same amount, we would make sure they understand they get a deduction
quicker on the heavier vehicle," Mr. Malek says.

Several environmental activists say they are considering mounting an effort
to close what they consider a tax loophole for light trucks. "It's an
inexcusable boondoggle for Detroit," says Dan Becker, director of the
Sierra Club's global-warming and energy program.Still, he says, environmentalists
have regarded other issues as more important. He also notes that tax breaks
are typically tough to erase once they are on the books.